


Only Us

by novella12nite



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Mutants, F/M, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Mutant Powers, not alone for Christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 05:12:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13047192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novella12nite/pseuds/novella12nite
Summary: Adrien was a different person now. No longer was he the new student with a mysterious gift. The rumors about his powers being unstable ostracized him at first, but thanks to Nino, who helped him with the transition into school, he was able to make new friends. The class party was going great but for some reason, in the back of his mind he had a feeling that it was only temporary. (Mutants AU)mlsecretsanta2k17





	Only Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Charly520](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charly520/gifts).



Adrien went straight the restroom after Chloe spilled her drink on his shirt. She had offered to send his shirt to the cleaners, but he turned down the offer saying he would wash it off himself. He needed a break from the party anyway.

After coming to the academy he could almost say he was a different person now. No longer was he the new student with a mysterious gift. The rumors about his powers being unstable ostracized him at first, but thanks to Nino, who helped him with the transition into school, he was able to make new friends. The class party was going great but for some reason, in the back of his mind, he had a feeling that it was only temporary.

He stared at his reflection for some time. When he grinned he counted the lines that formed at the edge of his eyes. There really was nothing he could do but grin and bear it. His headmaster tried to vouch for him but the council had declined. They had decided it was safer Adrien remain in the Academy until they could properly claim his powers are stable. He was not sure what more proof he could offer, he thought he was getting better at school compared to being trained at home.Before he came to the Academy he could barely hold a glass, he can pick it up put down and drink from it. His father had sided with the council as well; Adrien sighed taking off his black gloves. His hands looked normal, but he knew if he ever came in direct contact with any object it would fall apart into ashes. The door opened and Adrien turned to see another person in dire need of the restroom.

“Marinette?”

She looked up clearly frazzled “A-Adrien! O-Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to! The uh door was unlocked and I thought no one was, I’m just going to leave,” As she inched her way to the exit, Adrien noticed that she hid her right arm behind her back.

“Wait! Marinette, what’s wrong with your hand?”

“It’s um- stuck.” She stated.

Adrien scratched his head in confusion. “Your hand is stuck in your purse?”

“Actually it's stuck in another dimension, that is inside my purse.” She clarified.

That’s right, Marinette Dupain-Cheng his classmate had her hand submerged in another dimension. It was her gift. He had seen her use it dozens of times in school and he like many others were in awe of it. She could create pocket-size dimensions and store various objects that re-materialize when she pulls them out. He heard his other classmate Alya call her a “modern Mary Poppins” much to his friend’s dismay. Marinette is one of the nicest people in his class, she always there to help others and was recently elected class president. She is also well known for being rather clumsy and gets fluster easily so this was not new.

His hand shot up covering his mouth, trying not to laugh. The annoyance on her face only made her look cuter.

“Hey, it’s not funny” She pouted.

“I’m sorry,” Adrien smirked, he wasn’t going to let an opportunity go to waste.

“Don’t you dare-“

“Do you need a hand, Marinette?”

Marinette glared at him, annoyed. he chuckled at his own brilliant pun as he put his gloves back on.

“I’ll get one of the teachers to help you right now.” He stood up walking towards the door.

“No!” She cried out, “Please can we just keep this between us? I wasn’t supposed to…”

She didn’t finish, using her free hand to cover her mouth. He looked at her confused but decided to ignore it.

“Ok then, what do you want me to do?”

“Let me think.” Marinette pulled her purse inside out, her hand half submerged in what looked like another plane of existence.

“Can you grab my waist? If I just pull my hand out, the tear will close ”

Adrien hovered over her, “is this ok?” He wrapped his arms around her waist, almost hugging her from behind. There were very close. He hoped he didn’t have any bad breath.

“On my count. 1, 2, 3!”

Adrien lifted her off her feet, and with both of them pulling her, she was able to successfully release her hand, causing both of them to fall backward. The portal lingered for a moment and then vanished.

~~ 

“Are you alright? I’m so sorry!”

“Yeah, it’s fine Marinette,” Adrien chuckled. “I have a hard head.”

Marinette checked him, trying to make sure she did not just injure her crush. She could not believe she just fell back on Adrien! He insisted he was okay but wanted to sit for awhile in the bathroom before rejoining the party festivities. She accepted the invitation and they sat together on a nearby bench in the hallway.

“You think they’ll look for us?” He asked.

She shrugged. “Probably not, Alya and Nino are most likely doing couple stuff.”

Adrien laughed. The sound of his voice made her heart leap out of her chest. She wondered: was there ever a moment just the two of them? All day she had been trying to get a chance to speak to with him alone. Unfortunately, there was never a moment alone, especially with Chloe in the picture. She had this plan to give him a present but no thanks to her portal that has vanished, it was most likely the present would be lost forever. Perhaps Alya was right about just talking to him would be enough. Now that they were finally together, she was nervous about how to go about what she needed to share with him. They sat in comfortable in silence.

“I can not thank you enough for your help.” She finally said.

“Save me a slice of cake, I saw you brought one in earlier.” He suggested with a toothy grin.

“Kim ate the last slice, unfortunately. But I-I can bake you one!” She blurted out.

She saw his cheeks bloom red. “Really?”

She nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. For a split second, it looked like he was going to inch closer and hug her. He remained at a respectful distance, though, she looked at both his hands that were planted firmly on the bench.

“Adrien, can I ask you something?” He hummed. He looked like he was in a good mood; she’d hate to ruin it by being privy, but she was curious.

“Does it hurt? Your hands I mean…”

He nodded. “A little bit. Things turn black or crumble when I touch them, there are only side effects though, nothing too serious.” He placed them up in arms’ length so she could see them from a distance as well.

She did not speak, unsure of how to respond, so he continued.

“Don’t tell anyone, but they denied my request to go home,” he babbled on. “Headmaster said it was ok, but my father said I would be safer if I stayed here in school.”

Marinette’s eyes were blown wide; she tore away from his gaze and looked straight on. She did not expect such an honest answer.

“Marinette, I think he’s afraid of me.” His voice cracked, “there’s no other explanation for why he would not want me to come home.”

“Adrien I do not-

“It’s ok, I’m okay.” He shook his head vigorously, “I would be scared of me too.”

Marinette did not believe that. She refused to.In fact, she felt more secure with Adrien than with anyone else. He looked at her like she was a mad woman. She did not realize she said that last part aloud.

“Let me elaborate; Adrien you have the most control with your gift out of everyone in our class. You know how to control your powers. While mine are unpredictable, I lose things, I summon stuff I don’t know what use I have for them. I have no control.” She looked at him, eyes filled with tears.

She reached over to take his hand. He didn’t grab it, but he didn’t move it away either. His expression was unreadable.

“What I’m trying to say, or least what I’ve been trying to get out all night is that you have a friend staying with you this holiday break.” She wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve, “I’m not allowed to go home as well.”

She leaned back on the wall. The two of them sat there in silence, without words. Adrien beckoned her to lean against her shoulder.

“Well look at us, two mutants with unstable abilities who can’t go home for Christmas.”

“The world’s just not ready for us.” She answered in a low voice.

“Well, when we are ready will make an unstoppable duo.” He smiled at her, “Until then, m’lady do you happen to have any plans this Christmas?”

She wiped her eyes breaking into a smile, “Hmm I was planning to sleep until noon but after that, I have no appointments, Monsieur Agreste.”

“Splendid! I was wondering if you would like to play Ultimate Mecha Strike IV? I’ll pick you up at half past twelve.”

“Oh, Of course, but I need to bake a cake at four, for a party of two.” She played along, “I could use an extra hand. Would you like to help?” She saw his eyes shine with delight.

“You had me at cake.” He answered.

~~

Adrien did not realize he had a crush on Marinette until New Year’s Eve. Both of them were sitting in the blanket fort they had made in the common room.

Everyone went home for break the next day, so they had the entire dormitory to themselves. They rearranged the furniture in the hallways and walked around wearing high-knee socks. Marinette challenged him to some sort of “sock-slide race.” They spent hours sliding across the empty dorm hallways. To fill up the silence, Marinette blasted Christmas music. They watched movies, played video games, baked a cake, and Marinette even taught him how to bead bracelets. They had exchanged them as presents Christmas morning.

He felt whole when he was with her like he could interact freely with stuff without destroying them. He figured she felt the same as well like she had a clearer head when she materialized objects. They supported each other and confided in one another. Adrien never felt like he could open so much about himself to another person in just days of spending time together.

Maybe it was the fairy lights they stringed up which made the mood more romantic, the way she hugged him at midnight it felt warm and he wanted to give one back in return. He could hear a small voice inside him reasoning with him. She’s amazing, she’s sweet, she’s beautiful, you are in love with her.

**Author's Note:**

> In case it wasn't clear my bad this is their mutant powers:  
> Marinette has dimensional storage powers: store anything in a fold of dimension/space and re-materialize.  
> Adrien the power to destroy anything he touches. (is trained to control but is still reserved and wary around people even if their like him raised his entire life to be cautious)
> 
> Special thanks to @trashnoir for proofreading this for me


End file.
